Russian drunk driver kills American cyclist on peace ride: Itar-Tass

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A 61-year old American man who was cycling in Russia carrying "messages of peace" was killed by a Russian drunk driver in a hit and run accident, news agency Itar-Tass reported local police as saying on Friday.

Ron McGerity who was touring historic Russian cities around Moscow by bicycle, was struck by an intoxicated truck driver on Thursday. The driver was later detained, Itar-Tass said.

McGerity, who was in Russia as part of a planned ride through 61 countries to promote messages of peace, was hit while cycling on a road between the cities of Kostroma and Ivanovo in Ivanovskaya Province, around 280 kilometers northeast of Moscow.

The last photographs posted by McGerity on his Facebook page showed him on his specially designed bicycle in front of the mausoleum of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin in Moscow's Red Square.

His personal website said cycling was a vehicle for charity fundraising that gave him a chance to deliver "peaceful and spiritual civic messages" to local officials around the world.